The Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs will meet for the fifth time in as many years (including playoffs) when they do battle at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday in Week 9.
The Titans come into this game on a five-game winning streak after topping the Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts (twice), the Washington Commanders and Houston Texans following an 0-2 start.
Thanks to their five-game winning streak, the Titans sit atop the AFC South and are No. 2 in the conference.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have won three of their last four games and sport the same record as Tennessee, although they’ve looked a hell of a lot better in their path there. Kansas City also sits one spot behind the Titans in the AFC.
As these two teams prepare to do battle on Sunday night in primetime, let’s take a look at seven things to know about this crucial AFC showdown between the Titans and Chiefs.
Chiefs are massive favorites
Even though both teams are 5-2 and the Titans are sitting ahead of the Chiefs in the AFC standings, Kansas City enters this game as a massive favorite, mostly thanks to the ugly nature of Tennessee’s first seven games.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Chiefs are massive 11.5-point favorites over the visiting Titans, with the over/under set at 46.5. That spread is actually down from the 12.5 it was to start the week.
The Titans are 5-2 against the spread but have hit the over just twice. The Chiefs are just 3-4 against the spread but have hit the over four times.
Ryan Tannehill's injury
After missing Week 8 with an ankle injury, the Titans are hoping to get back Ryan Tannehill, who clearly still gives this team the best chance to win after what we saw from Malik Willis in his first NFL start last Sunday.
Tannehill was able to get in a limited practice on Wednesday, which is a good sign for his potential availability, but his ankle was taped and the signal-caller said he’ll likely have to play through pain if he does suit up.
“Pain is going to be there, that’s just kind of where we’re at with it,” he said. “Unfortunately, with the nature of the injury, it kind of is there. So, it’s just going to be a matter of if I can do my job, or if I can’t.”
Tennessee’s passing attack was struggling already, but a hampered Tannehill may only make things worse, especially if his mobility is limited and the offensive line doesn’t provide sufficient protection.
Titans getting some key players back
We already mentioned the possible return of Tannehill, but Tennessee may also get back outside linebacker Rashad Weaver, who was ruled out with a back injury last week but practiced in full on Wednesday.
Weaver has been one of the Titans’ best pass-rushers, with his four sacks ranking third on the team behind Denico Autry and Jeffery Simmons.
Another name to keep an eye on is slot cornerback Elijah Molden, who was designated to return from IR after spending the first seven games there. He isn’t guaranteed to play just yet, but he sure sounds like someone who will give it a go.
“It feels great [to be back],” Molden said. “Obviously it’s a long time coming, and in a perfect world I wouldn’t have missed this much time… I really had to work on my patience, of course, and also trying to figure out new ways to lock in, working… I feel good enough to go, and I am only getting better.”
Tennessee still played at an incredibly high level without the pair last week, but the Chiefs’ offense is a very different animal. The Titans will need all hands on deck if they’re going to beat Kansas City on Sunday.
The only issue the Titans have seen on defense this season has come from their secondary, which has been searching for an answer in the slot with Molden out.
Tennessee seemed to finally come up with the right approach in Week 8 by starting safety Amani Hooker in the slot and having defensive back Andrew Adams replace him deep.
While effective, having Hooker in his normal spot and Molden in the slot should improve things for this unit, which has been playing better of late overall. Keep an eye on Hooker, though, as the safety injured his shoulder last week and did not practice on Wednesday.
With their offense playing so poorly in 2022, the Titans are going to need another great effort from the pass-rush and secondary. Having Molden and Weaver on the field gives them a better chance to do that.
Frank Clark's suspension
The Chiefs’ defense will be without a key defender in Week 9, as defensive end Frank Clark is out due to a suspension. Clark has three sacks and four tackles for loss in seven games and has been coming on strong of late. His absence will be a blow to both Kansas City’s pass-rush and run defense.
Patrick Mahomes winless in regular season vs. Titans
As great as Patrick Mahomes has been during his career, he has yet to beat the Titans in the regular season. Tennessee first beat Mahomes in 2019, 35-32, and then the Titans dominated the Chiefs in 2021, 27-3.
“Last year, we weren’t ready and they beat our [expletive],” Mahomes said of the 2021 matchup. “This team is a lot better than [people] talk about them. People don’t talk about their D-line.”
Mahomes knows full well what he’s up against in a matchup against one of the better defensive fronts in the NFL. The Titans sacked Mahomes four times and tallied nine QB hits overall in 2021.
The group is minus Harold Landry this time around, but the Titans’ pass-rush has been surprisingly strong without its 2021 sacks leader, as Simmons, Autry, Weaver and Bud Dupree have all been excellent when healthy.
While the Titans have gotten the better of the Chiefs in the regular season since 2019, Kansas City has the ultimate bragging rights after beating Tennessee in the AFC Championship Game that same season.
Elite offense vs. elite defense
The Chiefs come into this game with the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL that averages 31.9 points per contest. KC also ranks second in total and passing yards per game, but their rushing attack ranks 23rd.
Meanwhile, the Titans sport one of the worst offenses in the NFL, ranking dead-last in total yards per game, 31st in passing yards and 24th in points.
Tennessee has, however, run the ball with success — as you’d expect — ranking ninth in the NFL in that category, and that’s with Derrick Henry getting off to a slow start to the year before exploding the last four games.
As bad as Tennessee has been on offense this season, their defense has been the exact opposite. The Titans rank ninth in points allowed, second in rushing yards allowed, 15th in total yards allowed, and tied for 10th in takeaways.
And those numbers have been even better during the Titans’ five-game winning streak, albeit against a group of lackluster offenses.
All that said, the Titans’ defense was able to stifle the Chiefs in their Week 7 matchup in 2021, and that’s exactly what Tennessee needs to win this one. If this turns into a shootout, the Chiefs will run away with it.
Playoff seeding implications
As things stand now, the Titans have the No. 2 seed in the conference, one spot ahead of the Chiefs at No. 3.
So, the winner of this matchup will have sole possession of the No. 2 seed for now. Adding to that, the winner will have the head-to-head tie-breaker, which could be huge down the road if both teams finish with the same record.
One thing these two teams have in common is that both have been beaten by the Buffalo Bills this year, so they’ll have to finish with a better record to pass them in the AFC playoff picture. That can’t happen in Week 9, as Buffalo sits at 6-1.
